Mirabai Chanu leads Indian challenge in weightlifting

Mirabai Chanu, one of India’s most well-known weightlifters, began lifting firewood as a young child. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, a young woman from Manipur’s East Imphal district, created history in the Tokyo Olympics by taking home the silver medal in the Women’s 49kg Weightlifting competition. She started competing internationally at an early age, winning medals there and becoming well-known. Mirabai Chanu was thought to be the favourite in the women’s 49kg division at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Mirabai Chanu was born on August 8, 1994, and is a 26-year-old resident of Imphal, the capital of Manipur. She won her first gold medal in a local weightlifting contest when she was 11 years old. She then participated in the Asian and World Junior Championships and took home gold in both. She looks up to Indian weightlifter Kunjarani Devi.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Mirabai Chanu made her debut on the world stage at the age of 20 when she took home a silver medal in the 48kg class at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

At the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California, Mirabai took home the gold medal.

She accomplished it for the first time in 20 years by an Indian weightlifter.

Chanu was unable to participate in any of the competitions throughout the year due to a lower back problem she experienced in 2018. She had a remarkable comeback in 2019 in the World Championships in Thailand. Despite coming in fourth, she made the competition memorable by breaching the 200-kg barrier for the first time in her career.

Mirabai Chanu, competing in the women’s 49 kg clean and jerk, broke the previous record by lifting 119 kg in April at the Asian weightlifting championships in Tashkent. Chanu was only able to win a bronze medal at the Asian championships due to a poor showing in the snatch. N. Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, commended Chanu and gave her a gift of 2 million rupees.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest civilian sports honour, was awarded to her in 2018. Chanu received the Padma Shri in 2018 from the Indian government.

The sole weightlifter representing India in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Mirabai Chanu, took home a silver medal.

Day 2 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games saw Saikhom Mirabai Chanu break records and win India’s first gold medal.

On July 30, at 10:18 p.m.

Ace Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, an Indian weightlifter, shattered her own record on Saturday to win India’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) in this city. Chanu was head and shoulders above everyone else in the competition, lifting her weights with ease. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu began the 2022 Commonwealth Games with 109 kg and won a gold medal. India’s first time.

The clean and jerk world record belong to her, who has a personal best of 119 kg.